USS Niagara (1813) - War of 1812

War of 1812

On August 6, Perry ordered a shakedown cruise of the fleet, now totaling ten after the inclusion of three merchant vessels—the Somers, the Trippe and the Ohio—that were converted into warships and the Caledonia, which was captured from the British. Lieutenant Daniel Turner was placed in command of the Niagara for the cruise, as the fleet was still seriously undermanned; Dobbins had even written a letter, directed to Secretary Hamilton, out of desperation back in December 1812. Word arrived on August 8 that Jesse Elliott was en route to Erie from Black Rock, New York with 89 men. Elliott was promoted to commodore and given command of the Niagara after arriving in Erie on August 10.

On August 17, Perry's fleet anchored off of Sandusky, Ohio, and dispatched a boat to inform General William Henry Harrison of their presence. Harrison and his staff met with Perry aboard the ships the next day and agreed to a rendezvous in Put-in-Bay. In Put-in-Bay, Harrison made available 100 "Kentucky and frontier riflemen" to serve on board as Marines. Before the fleet made a stopover at Fort Amherstburg, Canada to gather intelligence, where the British fleet, under the command of Commodore Robert Heriot Barclay, was based. While Perry's fleet was under construction, Barclay had ordered the construction of the HMS Detroit (1813), which was to be a match for the Niagara and the Lawrence. Unbeknownst to Perry, supplies in Fort Amherstburg were running out, as his fleet had cut off shipments from Long Point. Fearing an uprising caused by a shortage of food, Barclay and his fleet set sail as soon as the Detroit was complete.